1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pole handle provided with a wrist strap. Poles of this type are used, for example, in sports such as alpine skiing, ski touring, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, or Nordic walking.
2. Background Information
A pole of the aforementioned type comprises a handle fitted with a wrist strap that enables the user to improve the transmission of thrust force from the hand to the pole, but also to facilitate the user's release of the handle without losing or dropping the pole. A drawback associated with the use of a wrist strap is the risk of injury due to the wrist being obstructed. Indeed, the pole may inopportunely become stuck during use. In such event, the user's hand may become caught in the wrist strap, which may cause injury to the user, such as a shoulder dislocation or an injury to the wrist.
Ski poles that have a wrist strap removably attached to the handle are known, in which the wrist strap is automatically detached under the effect of a predetermined force, in order to prevent any excessive stress. The wrist strap can detach from the handle both under the effect of a tensile force directed laterally in relation to the handle and under the effect of a tensile force directed lengthwise of the handle.
However, ill-timed releases of the wrist strap are observed in a handle of this type, as a detachment of the wrist strap under the effect of a lateral traction in relation to handle may be unnecessary, or even undesirable.
The patent document FR-A-2 792 539, and family member U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,370-B1, disclose a ski pole handle, the wrist strap of which includes an insert that is snap-fastened in the upper portion of the handle, so as to be released only under the effect of a tensile force directed lengthwise of the handle. The insert is thus positioned by deforming an element of the pole, namely a portion of the body of the handle. These deformable elements are fragile and breakable. Furthermore, the disengagement of the wrist strap requires elastic deformation of the handle body. Therefore, there is a risk of damage to this expensive solid part. Finally, the proposed solutions describe a shaped insert that is complex to manufacture, uneconomical, and can be fragile.
The patent document EP-A-1 474 212, and family member U.S. Pat. No. 7,226,084-B2, disclose a cross-country ski pole handle, the wrist strap of which comprises an insert that is snap-fastened in the upper portion of the handle. However, this wrist strap is releasable only by manual action on a latching lever. This solution does not provide disengagement under the effect of a tensile force on the wrist strap lengthwise of the handle.